Help yourself to your own business starting with these
ideas:
1 Miniature Models of Local and Historical Interest
Models
of local buildings, especially those with some significant historical interest,
or miniature statues of people with local or national appeal, will always have
a large and eager market. Make moulds
from latex, then produce and colour plaster models and sell through local
shops, craft shops and at collectors' fairs and flea markets.
2 Craftsman-made Jewellery
There
is always a great demand for designer Jewellery, the more unusual the
better. If made from local stones, such
as Whitby jet, even from beach pebbles or local shells, so much the better,
especially if sold to the local tourist trade.
Sell through gift and souvenir shops, or car boot fairs, collectors'
fairs and flea markets.
3 Selling Paper Ephemera
'Ephemera'
is the grand name given to paper collectibles: tickets, adverts, magazines,
books, stamps, advertising inserts, old billheads, letterheads, etc. The older the item the more collectible it is
likely to be. These items are in great
demand by collectors at collectors' fairs and flea markets, antiques fairs, and
through the post to clientele attracted via advertisements in book collectors',
ephemera and stamp collectors' magazines.
4 Specialising in Toys, Dolls, Trains, etc.
At
antiques fairs, flea markets and collectors' fairs, many traders make a good
living from specialising in those collectors' items sometimes referred to as
'juvenilia'. Because they specialise,
they are the traders to whom the collectors turn when they want to dispose of
collections, thereby ensuring an adequate flow of stock. They are also the ones collectors consider
first when seeking to increase or improve upon their own collections. Fellow dealers also consider them first when offloading
stock that doesn't exactly fall within their own trading spheres.
5
Selling Books
Either sell cheaply all books to come
your way, or specialise in books on such as local history, biographies, or
specialist subjects, e.g. dogs, railways and so on. Sell at local car boot fairs, collectors'
fairs and flea markets, or through the post by means of lists or advertisements
placed in book collectors' magazines.
Alternatively, allow customers to view your stock in your home, by
appointment.
6 Selling Curios
Curios,
falling within the scope of 'collectibles', are as the name suggests, items
that are just a little bit different to what might usually be available in
bulk. At flea markets, antiques fairs,
even car boot sales we find fans, policemen's whistles, sugar tongs and many
other items, the use for which is not always immediately apparent.
7 Selling Junk and Bric-a-Brac
An
inexhaustible stock potential awaits you here.
Almost anything other than reproduction items, antiques, and consumer
durables, can be sold within this category.
Perhaps the best marketing outlet is the car boot fair, or for slightly
better items the flea markets and collectors' fairs held regularly in all parts
of the country.
8 Specialising in the Sale of Better Stamps
Philately
at its finest concerns the collecting of better stamps, some rare, some
counterfeited, some with errors. Here
you will not be likely to find the juvenile collector, and purchases can amount
to many hundreds, even thousands of pounds in but a few transactions. Best left to someone with an interest and
some experience in stamp collecting, the dealers' stocks are correctly
identified by catalogue number, condition, and priced accordingly. Sell on approval or at specialist stamp
fairs.
9 Selling Stamps in Packets
Here,
no specialist knowledge of stamps is required.
All you need do is packet together several stamps with some common theme
or denominator. They may perhaps
originate from one country, or be of a similar topic such as space exploration
or animals. They might instead all be
colourful oddly shaped specimens such as triangles or even stars. Price the packets and mount them on large
display boards for sale in local shops.
Alternatively make bulky selections of world stamps and cover them with
cellophane to protect them and make them more attractive. Sell again through local shops or at flea
markets and collectors' fairs.
10 Selling Stamps on Approval
Stamps
may be sold through advertisements placed in stamp collecting magazines or
through such as the 'Exchange and Mart'.
Mount them by country, theme, shape or simply world mix, in special
booklets or on mounting cards available from wholesale stationers advertising
in stamp collectors' magazines. Some
simply offer stamps loose in boxes from which the collector might pick stamps
all bearing some low common price.
11 Specialise in a Much-Wanted Item
For
example, buttons, ties, items relating to railways, etc.
Once
you decide to specialise, you must deal in almost every conceivable item or
design within your chosen area. One
woman sells buttons on a large London street market, but she sells thousands of
different shapes, made from all manner of materials. The Sock Shop, Body Shop and Tie Shop fall
within this category.
12 Writing Letters to the Press
Here
lies a potentially very lucrative opportunity indeed. Most magazines and newspapers offer cash
rewards, sometimes as much as £150, for readers' letters, jokes, anecdotes,
recipes, and so on. Study your target
publication with care for some prefer short, snappy letters; some choose
family-orientated subjects; some magazines cater more for the woman independent
of family strings, and so on. Make an
exact assessment of the publications' preferences and GO FOR IT!
13 Greetings Card Verses
Greetings
card producers in Britain and overseas are always on the lookout for new
writers of verses for their cards. Some
require writers of humour, even of the risqué variety; others require what can
only be described as sentimental 'slush'.
Study several cards from producers within your preferred area of writing
and send at least half a dozen examples of your work to each.
14 Competitions Entry Form Supplier
Look
in any copy of Competitors Journal, the hobby's fortnightly magazine, and
you'll find several adverts from people offering to supply competition entry
forms to readers who often have little time or inclination to search these
items out for themselves. This sometimes
involves some travel as you search out potential sources, but must be
worthwhile in terms of the dividends recouped by those suppliers with a large
clientele.
15 Preparing Curriculum Vitae
A
curriculum vitae consists simply of the biographical details, both personal and
career-related of persons wishing to change jobs or seek advancement, training,
and so on. Application forms present
problems which are compensated for by the curriculum vitae. If you have access to a typewriter or
preferably word processor, you may be the one to provide this much needed
service often for extremely high rewards, particularly if an inexpensive
updating services can also be incorporated.
16 Invent-a-Game
Monopoly,
the Rubik Cube and Trivial Pursuits, are amongst the most popular games and
pastimes of today, and surely none can have disappointed their creators in
terms of the handsome dividends they provided.
But careful consideration of these games will convince you of the reason
for their massive success - each and every one is unique - not a variation of
Ludo in sight! Create something
different - that's the key.
17 Cherished Number Plates
Many
drivers seek number plates a little different from those of fellow drivers,
whether for investment purposes or else for reasons of pure snob value. Recent auctions of numbers by the Government
have yielded massive profits, sometimes one sale making the vendor many
thousands of pounds richer. Extremely
straightforward regulations for transfer are laid down by Government.
18 Treasure Hunting
Treasure
hunting can uncover some of the rarest of specimens used by our ancestors, and
in turn can provide handsome rewards for the discoverer when sold, usually by
auction. But to yield profits the items
discovered need not be of the rare or priceless variety. I know for instance of one man who stocks his
stall at flea markets with Victorian bottles, many sporting very high price
tags. Even broken ones are put to use -
cut down and decorated they form beautiful vases, paperweights, ashtrays and
such. Another man I know stocks his
stall with old potlids and dolls' heads, while at the craft fairs another
hunter stocks his stall with elaborate flower arrangements from driftwood found
on local beaches.
19 Accommodation Address Service
This
business can be operated from home or from small office premises. Look at advertisements in 'Exchange and Mart'
from people offering a similar service if you need any convincing that some
people will pay you to collect and forward their mail at regular intervals.
20 Upholstery
Many
families seek not to constantly change their furniture, but to have much-loved
family pieces repaired and reupholstered.
Whether due to financial constraints or for sentimental reasons, the
answer to their problems could easily come via the services of someone skilled
in the art of renovation and reupholstery.
Courses are available at most technical colleges.
21 Furniture Stripping
As
an adjunct to upholstery we find individuals and firms specialising in the
stripping of furniture, removing the years of polish and grime from antique or
more recent items, and restoring them to their former glory. The French polisher also provides a
much-appreciated service, often making minor improvements to a piece perhaps a
little battle-scarred, but too valuable to be relegated to the dustbin.
22 Typing Service
If
you already can, or could learn to type to a professional standard, offer your
services to local factories and shops, hairdressers, hotels, writers, students,
and to the general public. Providing
your fees are competitive with those for full-time or agency staff you should
find no trouble in maintaining repeat custom, particularly if you can offer to
complete work within tight deadlines.
23 Custom Curtain Making
It
is very rare that a customer finds curtains of the exact material and design
that he or she is seeking. Someone who
can offer a professional sewing service, producing curtains made up from the
customer's material and chosen design, will find him or herself in great
demand, especially if costs are reasonable.
24 Soft Toys
At
craft fairs and in craft magazines we discover all manner of cuddly toys, as
well as a sizeable proportion not intended for youngsters' sticky fingers, but
destined instead to occupy pride of place on some teenager's dressing table. But it is essential, if rewards are to be
high, to provide something a little different to that which can easily be
obtained from the larger manufacturers - what about emulating those teddies
with their individual greetings and names of the recipient embroidered on their
clothing?
25 Hiring
We
find here all types of items, particularly those required for only a short
duration, e.g. designer dresses, wedding attire, baby hardware, computers,
garden equipment and so on. Hire the
items out for the hiring fee and a deposit which is refundable when the item is
later returned intact. One firm of which
I have personal knowledge will hire out virtually everything from typewriters
to lawnmowers, to prams and televisions, even offering to lend me their own
computer over a weekend when their staff were off duty and my computer was out
of action.
26 Trading at Car Boot Fairs
Car
boot sales offer a good income to those prepared to investigate suitable venues
and to offer reasonable stock at realistic prices. Stock is unbelievably easy to acquire whether
from your own garage or from the attics of friends and relatives, jumble sales,
other car boot traders, private sales, and charity shops.
27 Making Video Films
The
cost of a video camera prohibits many families from capturing those rare
moments in their children's lives: parties, first steps, sports days, first day
at school, and so on. So here we have a
great business opportunity, providing a service much in demand for several
'never to be forgotten' occasions: weddings, birthday parties, anniversary
celebrations, prizegivings, and many other occasions.
28 Leaflet Distribution
Many
firms and businesses advertise their services and goods by means of leaflets
and brochures delivered to selected addresses, but post office charges often
present them with extremely high processing costs. Employing people to deliver the same
documents can be equally prohibitive.
But a leaflet distributor dealing with several client workloads at the
same time, can offer a much lower cost to the customer. Your services can be advertised locally or
nationally, and can attract much repeat custom if costs are kept competitive
and an efficient standard is maintained.
29 Home Publishing
This
must surely rank as one of the few businesses in which massive profits can be
earned, while demanding of the newcomer very little in the way of capital or
experience. The publisher usually offers
his stock direct to the public, primarily by direct mail or by placing
advertisements in appropriate publications.
He or she may either write the manuals and books which form the basic
business stock, or else may buy them straight from the writer or from other
publishers offering reproduction rights in the manuscripts concerned. All the home publisher requires to hand is
one high quality manuscript for photocopying, and advertising circulars for
each title. The publisher might choose
to deal in such as self-improvement titles, 'How to' titles of all kinds, or
opt instead to specialise in one of the most profitable of home publishing
lines, namely that of business and moneymaking titles.
30 Party Plan
Almost
everything can be sold via the medium of the house party where clients gather
to enjoy tea and cakes, then later watch a demonstration of the products on
offer. Items are ordered usually at the
party, with payment being made when the goods are delivered some time
later. The hostess will require some
worthwhile gift or percentage of the takings as her reward for assembling
potential customers and providing the venue and fare for the party. The massive profits made by such as
Tupperware and other firmly established party plan firms, must surely have
prompted today's endless round of parties for goods such as lingerie, kids'
wear, basketware, perfumes, and so on.
31 House and Pet Sitting
Here
the entrepreneur offers a service whereby the client's home, possessions and
pets are safeguarded and cared for during his or her absence. The service may be one of total surveillance,
whereby the person actually lives on the premises, or may be a partial service
involving such as daily visits whereby all signs of absence are removed. Plants may be watered and small domestic pets
cared for. Alternatively, a dog-walking
or caring service may be much in demand where a customer is obliged to be away
from home for more than a few hours at a time.
32 Colour Analysis
Now
that quality make-up and designer fashions are within the scope of most women's
budgets, something further must be provided by which to set them apart from
their peers. That 'something' might well
be colour analysis, the method of designating clients as 'winter, summer,
spring or autumn' personalities,
according to skin, hair and eye tones, then subsequently providing them with a
colour scheme from which they will choose all future wardrobe and make-up
shades.
33 Calligraphy
This
is the grand name for the even grander art of beautiful handwriting and
printing. We see swirling flows of
lettering created by hand with the aid of special pens and inks, adorning menus
in the better eating establishments, on examination certificates, formal
invitations, signs, notices, doorplates, to name but a few creations which
demand a thoroughly professional and attractive end product.
34Photography
You don't have to outshine Lords
Snowdon or Lichfield to take great pictures of junior's birthday party, for
parents who profess not to know one end of a camera from another. You do though need a little better than the
'point and press' type camera, though not necessarily one that requires much
setting-up of buttons and selectors before you even set eyes, or eye, upon the
viewfinder. Courses are available in
most local colleges. A good photographer
can be in regular demand for weddings, parties, christenings, and as a freelance
for local newspapers and businesses.
35 Sandwich Service
Not
all offices and workplaces have suitable canteen or food vending services for
their employees, and not all are within easy distance of suitable shopping
facilities. Some employees have little
time or inclination to provide themselves in such circumstances with a
sufficiently tempting packed lunch. Here
lies the opportunity for the enterprising business man or woman to operate a
sandwich delivery service, preferably one offering unusual fillings, perhaps
also providing the lunchbox which is then retrieved the following day and
another, complete with sandwiches, substituted in its place.
36 Party Catering
Almost
all of us enjoy house parties, dinner parties, even children's parties. Not all
though, relish the thought of long hours preparing for the event, only
to find we're too tired to enjoy the fruits of our labours. Someone who can undertake the preliminaries
on our behalf, leaving us to enjoy the party free from hassle, must surely be
worth paying highly for.
37 Children's Entertainer
If
like me you hate the thought of leading children in an endless round of
'Farmer's in his den' and 'Ring a ring o' roses', then have you considered
doing what I now do - hiring a children's entertainer? Clowns, magicians, puppeteers and jugglers,
are just a few of the many types of entertainer, ready, willing and more than
able to take the hassle out of the party.
Fees may seem high, often amounting to ú30 to ú50 for each one hour
session, but to many parents that's a small price to pay for the happy smiles
this different form of entertainment generates.
38 Growing Herbs
An
easy one this, and not requiring much in the way of time and attention, it's a
moneymaking proposition that could easily survive alongside other
ventures. Fresh herbs are much in demand
as an alternative to the dried-out tasteless variety we find in bottles and
jars of supermarket shelves. Grown in
little pots they can be sold to supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, even direct
to the public either on a door-to-door basis, at car boot fairs, or from
roadside stalls.
39 Knitting
As
all ladies and many men know, there's 'knitting' and there's 'knitting'. For some of us the old plain and purl will
suffice, for others only the finest fair-isle or most intricate of aran designs
can truly lay claim to the title of 'knitting'.
It's no different for those wearing the finished garments, or perhaps
giving and receiving the same as gifts.
Almost everyone can produce professional garments of the simpler
variety; very few can produce those falling within the designer label
category. If you can create these better
items, perhaps from patterns you have created yourself, you might be surprised
at just how much customers are willing to pay for your services.
40 Sewing and Alterations
Those
who can sew garments from intricate patterns, especially if those patterns are
self-created originals, can find their services in great demand by customers
who seek something just that little bit different - and are prepared to pay for
it! For knitting, sewing, crochet and
craft specialists of all types, it's a more than worthwhile investment to at
least try their hands at fashion designing.
41 Growing and Selling Houseplants
Here
we have a product in constant demand by old and young alike, whether for their
own use or else as gifts for the vast majority of us who take pleasure in
adorning our homes with a natural form of ornamentation. Usually all you will need is a selection of
'mother' plants, from which your
cuttings are taken before being replanted in the small pots and containers from
which they will be sold. We find plants
sold at car boot sales, indoor and outdoor markets, from roadside stalls, even
by means of signs placed on the roadside to direct customers to the seller's
home - be careful though on the later point, since such signs are sometimes
banned by local authorities - always check first!
42 Old Photographic Views
Sometimes
called 'photo antiques', here we are offering photographic reproductions,
usually enlargements, of old street and village scenes or pictures of social
interest. Original postcards and
photographs of such views are becoming
increasingly beyond the means of those who want the items for their intrinsic value;
at something like ú20 a time for postcards and prints, items within this
category are now quite rightly termed 'collectibles', with many followers
willing to pay inordinately high prices for rare and prized specimens. The cost of an original to the reproducer is
however quite low in terms of the endless reproductions that can be created
from it, to be sold at a few pounds each if unframed, higher if mounted or
framed.
43 Aerial Photographs
We
can stand outside forever taking snaps of our homes, village, places of work
and so on, but rarely will we be rewarded with anything sufficiently different
to warrant the time or money spent in obtaining it. A shot from a different angle though is
another matter entirely, especially is that angle is one not readily accessible
to us all - namely the sky! One highly
successful firm hires the plane; once in summer, again in winter. With the firm's own photographer on board,
the plane circles a wide area taking hundreds of photographs of houses, shops,
farms, schools, as well as many general interest views. The photographs are then taken to the owner
or occupier of the premises photographed, and offered for sale in several
unique forms, including small and larger framed prints, plates, jigsaws, table
mats and so on. The costs are high but
for something so different, who cares?
44 Researcher
There
are times when we all would like information not readily accessible to us. Whether we need it sufficiently to pay
someone to gather the information on our behalf is another matter; yet often
this is the case, and customers will pay well for information they can't or
don't want to collect for themselves.
For many private individuals it's an easy matter to visit the library to
find the information required; for others it's all too time-consuming and often
downright boring, particularly when other demands take priority. In this category we find writers, market
analysts, larger firms, and advertising agencies to name but a few. Here is an opportunity for someone who likes
digging and delving, to actually spend all day amongst the reference books of
the local library, making notes that will later be transferred to type for the
customer. This service can also be in
demand amongst those studying their family or firm's history.
45 Slush Money
Subtitled
'When Words are Simply Not Enough', here we have a business opportunity that
caters for an almost insatiable need for anything by which to preserve our
cherished memories. So we find baby's
first shoes enshrined forever in a coating of bronze, silver or gold,
embroidered cushions on which wedding rings are placed for blessing, and
picture frames adorning sealed containers wherein are displayed precious or
rare items. I recently discovered one
businessman who made framed containers each of which contained a ragged piece
of rock - but not any ragged piece of rock - these were pieces of the Berlin
Wall.
46 Craftwork Clothing
Another
potentially insatiable market, here we find the entrepreneur catering for the
demands of the fashion-conscious and those wanting something different, or just
something that needs no loudspeaker to scream 'money'. Handcrafted clothes of the better variety,
are hugely popular amongst the more affluent sectors of society, often for
purely snobbish reasons. Whether for the
adult or child, it's no big deal to spend several hundreds of pounds on that
hand-made, hand-painted, hand-embroidered garment, which absolutely guarantees
that no-one, but no-one, will have anything remotely similar.
47 Telephone Answering Service
This
facility is much in demand amongst small business men and women who work
outside of the home, yet need telephone contact with potential customers -
remember not all can stretch to purchasing a mobile phone. There are also companies who require agents
in other parts of the country to take telephone calls and messages, for passing
on to their agents. Whether you choose
to advertise your service to business people or look for advertisements placed
by firms is entirely for you to determine - why not do both?
48 Discretion Buyer
Basically,
a discretion buyer is one who undertakes the purchase on behalf of one who, for
reasons of his or her own, prefers to remain anonymous. The most obvious example of such a service is
the auction house where often massive sums are bid by agents for the true
buyer. Sometimes the reason for such
anonymity will be that of maintaining privacy; at other times it is for reasons
of security.
49 Bulk Buying and Splitting
Wholesalers
of all types cater for those who require items in bulk, be they shopkeepers,
offices, large businesses or whatever.
How nice therefore for all of us to take advantage of the often massive
price reductions such bulk buying allows.
Anyone willing to purchase in bulk and split, offering the item at a
price still lower than shop prices will find a ready market amongst small
businesses, car boot traders, nurseries, and so on. Items can range from stationery, to small
toys, party tableware, kitchen items, ad infinitum.
50 Typed Pictures and Portraits
How
marvellous it must be to have something so personal and so original as a typed
portrait of yourself! The keys of the
typewriter are chosen for their suitability in providing shaded areas, stark
lines, darkness, and such, until a picture emerges of the chosen subject. It's a relatively easy task to undertake,
especially with a word processor in which case the 'picture' can be created and
amended on the screen before it appears in print. There are books available by which you can
learn this beautiful and highly profitable art.
51 Video Picture Print Outs
Recently
at a village show, I saw droves of people congregating in one tiny corner of
the marquee, and curiosity being what it is, I decided to find out why. The reason consisted of a video camera with
which the stallholder took portraits of his customers. The image was then transferred to a machine
that churned out a likeness very similar to that of a photocopying machine -
and at only 50p a time! Another idea of
a truly personal and one-off service.
52 Second Hand Items
Sadly,
we can't all buy the things we want brand new.
Indeed not many of us want to spend hard-earned cash on things we might
not require for any great length of time.
So we find shops and mail order suppliers selling second-hand baby
hardware, office machinery and filing systems, even household goods.
53 Fads and Gimmicks
Massive profits have been made in
recent years by cashing in on the current craze for anything remotely connected
with those 'Teenage Mutant Hero' TURTLES.
Greenbacks are provided in more ways than one by the makers and sellers
of turtle puppets, games, jigsaws, clothes, etc., etc., etc. Watch out for their successors and get in
there with a vengeance.
54 One-Off Gift Service
Here
we aim to make a customer of every single person who ever needs to buy a gift,
by offering something unique and highly appropriate. Think for example of businesses currently
operating without competition in this fantastic market: delivering bottles of champagne to the
recipient; delivering teddy bears with a message and the recipient's name
embroidered on the front; providing hampers of 'not on my wage' goodies to
delighted recipients; providing story books with the child's name and those of
his or her friends and pets incorporated into the text, and so on.
55 Upholstery and Carpet Cleaning
A
good opportunity awaits anyone prepared to undertake a service much in demand
by householders who cringe at the thought of hiring for themselves the heavy
industrial cleaning equipment needed to carry out a good cleaning job on
furniture and carpets.
Contracts
can be obtained from larger repeat customers, for example hotels, pubs,
restaurants and so on. Advertise your
services in the local press and in shop windows, or else promote it via leaflets
delivered door to door.
56 Growing Mushrooms
Not
a full-time occupation in terms of the attention growing of mushrooms requires,
but certainly a way to provide an
attractive second income. Many
specialist kits are available to set you up in such a business, but much the
same basic information as they contain is also available in books from the
library. Apart from a very small outlay
for initial products, a small dark area of space is all that you require to produce
something always in great demand by the general public and commercial
enterprises alike.
57 Teaching Computers
If
you decide to offer this much-needed service, make me customer number one, for
I am useless with anything possessing a brain superior to mine. Many of us are keen to learn how to use a
computer but sadly, like myself, find the reading and digesting of manual
information a long and arduous task.
Someone to teach the very basics and perhaps provide a back-up service
for the future, must have the makings of a very profitable business in his or
her hands.
58 Computer Diagnosis
Similar
to the teaching of computer basics, there is a great demand for help when
things go wrong. I once succeeded in
wiping clean three disks it had taken me months to produce. I threw them away! Ages afterwards I discovered that the
information was not lost; it could have been retrieved had I the information to
hand - and for returning three months work to me I would have paid well, but
sadly no-one I knew could help me then.
Now in a writers' magazine I see a service that helps with all computer
problems, or else there is no charge.
59 Correspondence Courses
The
whole world is keen to learn something new; we don't all have the time though
or the opportunity, to attend local college courses, assuming that a course
such as we require actually exists.
Correspondence courses come to the aid of such students, allowing them
to learn in the comfort and privacy of their own homes. And, perhaps surprisingly, it doesn't take a
college professor to produce good and much in demand correspondence courses;
anyone who knows his or her subject well enough can enter this extremely
lucrative field of business.
60 Prints
Much
in demand at local flea markets and antiques fairs are those advertisements
from early magazines, along with engraved prints of local views, and other
prints often taken from long obsolete publications. In themselves they are worth but a few pounds
each; coloured and framed they sell for upwards of ú20, AND there is a huge
demand for such items.
61 Stories
Not
just at Christmas but at all times of the year, there is an advertisement
placed in many publications, whereby the brilliant originator of this idea
offers a service he discovered almost by accident. Typing out stories on his word processor he decided to enter his child's
name instead of that of the heroine; the compliments came along with requests
for similar items for other children, and so another great business idea was
conceived. With your own stories you too
could benefit in this way.
62 Co-ordinator for Hobbyists and Special
Interest Groups
The
groups concerned here exist not primarily to correspond with one another, but
to have their interests co-ordinated in a manner that will keep them
well-informed and up-to-date with events, trends, and techniques relating to
their special interest or hobby. So we
find a monthly magazine 'Picture Postcard Monthly' which contains articles,
private and dealer advertisements, events diaries, auction and sales notices,
for all of us interested in - wait for it - 'deltiology' - the hobby of
collecting or merely taking an interest in those early picture postcards our
ancestors sent to one another in great profusion. Similar magazines exist for those interested
in autographs, cigarette cards and many other collecting areas. We also find specialist magazines and group
newsletters for those interested in consumer competitions, creative writing,
and almost anything else you can imagine.
63 Cuttings Service
Writers,
historians, firms and newspapers, are amongst the many people and organisations
requiring information the simply don't have the time or facilities to research
for themselves. A cuttings service is
one which obtains as many newspapers and periodicals as possible and removes
all items of interest to be filed under subject headings. A writer wanting to research and collate as
much information as possible about some past incident, perhaps a particular
Olympic Games, or person of notoriety, simply contacts the cuttings service
which then retrieves the information
required, photocopies it, and hey presto - another delighted customer!
64 Specialise in Writing or Selling Books on
Special Interests
Look
in any hobby or special interest magazine, such as those for writers,
competitions enthusiasts, craftworkers, stamp collectors, and so on, and you'll
come by a host of publications catering for the special needs of readers. Often they are written by individuals with
interests similar to those of other readers; sometimes they are from an
individual who merely researches the information imparted and presents it is
readable form. Try just one hobby or
interest at first, write a few titles, then move on to something different,
always of course continuing your advertisements in the earlier publications.
65 Print Agency
Charges
for small-run photocopying are high, but are greatly reduced for bulk and
larger orders. Here the entrepreneur
takes orders for photocopying on a small-run basis, collates the orders which
are then taken to a photocopying specialist who has agreed a low cost for bulk
printing. Alternatively, you could lease
a photocopier yourself and advertise the service which you then personally
provide.
66 Pen Pal/Correspondence Club
'Lonely
in a crowd' they say, and never was a truer statement uttered if the number of
advertisements we find placed in the press by people wanting to contact others
for friendship or to share a common interest is anything to go by. Some mechanism is necessary to facilitate the
coming together of thousands of currently isolated individuals who share this
common need or interest. This is where
the astute business person comes into play, acting as middleman who often does
little more than co-ordinate, collate, and distribute details relating to the
activities and interests of members.
67 Craftwork Supplier
There
are a great many publications on the market to cater for the needs of
craftworkers, from those interested in embroidery, to sewing, knitting,
building and renovating dolls' houses, model-making, and so on. Look at the classified advertisements
contained in these publications and you'll discover many suppliers of items
much in demand by these hobbyists.
These
items include: beads, dolls' heads and
much, much more. Hobbyists are unlikely
to want bulk items such as a wholesaler might offer, so here we have a
variation of the old favourite bulk buyer/splitter enterprise.
68
Making Dolls' Clothes
If
you doubt the viability of this proposition, take a look in any toyshop and
discover for yourself the massive prices being asked for often inferior clothes
for today's favourite dolls. Well-made
designs for clothes, and such as bedcoverings, cot and pram covers will always
find a ready demand.
69 Pub and Hotel Decor
Gone
are the days when the publican could bank on a regular clientele merely by
keeping his premises clean. With the
advent of wine bars, hotels, nightclubs and private clubs, the landlord or
owner must now make his establishment that much more inviting if he is to stay
the course. We therefore find a variety
of firms dealing in pub decor, but not the wallpaper/paint variety. These firms offer something different, in
most cases unique. They offer blown-up
sepia photos of the pub and its environment in earlier days, sepia photos of
famous 'regulars' perhaps with a printed write-up of their achievements, framed
early advertisements for alcoholic beverages, framed collections of old beer
labels and beermats, and so on.
70 Man with a Van
I
recently came by an advertisement in my local paper for an entirely new and
much-needed service. For something like
ú3 for a local trip, the 'man with a van' collects and delivers to you those
items that simply won't fit into the family car, and for which the firm selling
them offers no delivery service.
71 Rent-a-..........
When
I first saw the advertisement for 'Rent-a-nappy', I doubted the mentality of
the couple who offered to deliver boxes of nappies to the customer's door. Seeing their advertisement grow larger over
the following months, I realised there must be something profitable here of
potential interest to other. The couple
it seems, deliver nappies in bulk to the door, saving the mother the cost and
inconvenience of travelling with a new baby.
Their prices were competitive since they purchased their stock in bulk,
and actual cost to the customer was very little higher than the cost of the
same product bought in the shops. The
'Rent-a-Nappy' principle applies also to personal services, for example:
'Rent-a-Nanny', 'Rent-a-Mrs. Mop', and 'Rent-a-Gardener', being but a few of
the many examples I have recently come by.
72 Giant Kids' Things
Fantasy
will always be big business particularly perhaps in respect of children, who
love to bounce on huge cushions and foam-filled play equipment. Life-size stuffed dolls and toys add another
dimension to their world of make-believe, as do those beds in the shape of
motor racing cars and castles. A vastly
under-exploited market this one for the imaginative business man and woman.
73 Horse Blankets, Covers, etc.
Visit
any cross-country event or gymkhana, and you'll see the most beautiful garments
carefully laid across the owners' equine pride and joy. Horse blankets come in many shapes and sizes
and many of them are extremely expensive to buy via the usual sources, and
often very plain too. Several small
firms however specialise in making blankets to order and to design, often
embroidered with the horse's name, sometimes incorporating club colours or
motifs and so on.
74 Dog Training Classes
We
are a nation of dog lovers, or so they say, and many of us loving our pets as
we do, want them to be well-behaved if only for their own safety in the world outside of the home. So we take them to classes, where they are
taught to 'sit', 'stay' and 'heel', and we are willing to pay considerable sums
for the privilege of having someone teach us and our pets how to behave in an
acceptable fashion. Normally classes
consist of anything up to 50 owners and their pets, each paying a small sum at
the opening of each session.
75 Running a Nursery
Unlike
many other countries, Britain falls far short of providing those childminding
facilities which would enable parents to re-enter the workforce. Individual childminding facilities take a
huge slice from the wage, and often a private nursery catering for several
children at the same time can cut the cost to the parent. There are of course standards set in respect
of all facilities for childcare; standards with which you must familiarise
yourself before attempting to enter this lucrative field of business - ask your
local Social Services department for information.
76 Stabling, Livery, Feeding, Paddocks
Buying
the horse is not the expensive part of horse-ownership. That once-off cost becomes almost insignificant
compared to the cost of maintaining the animal, if that is you can find good
accommodation in your area. Standards
and types of accommodation vary from simple paddock facilities, whereby the
owner pays rent to the owner of the land for nothing more than a field in which
the horse might graze, hopefully with at least basic facilities for sheltering,
to full livery, and plush stable complexes with daily grooming and feeding
provided by trained staff. If you have
land attached to your home, here is your chance to make it pay.
77 Knitting/Embroidery/Needlepoint
etc. Pattern Designer
Look
at TV stars such as Noel Edmunds, Russell Grant and Giles Brandreth, and you'll
notice one thing they all have in common - knitted garments for all manner of
occasions, each emblazoned with the most appropriate of patterns and
motifs. 'Horsie' folk have their
garments decorated with cartoon 'Thelwell' horses; 'Turtlemania' caused a great
demand for appropriately designed children's wear; some prefer to have the slogan
of a favoured organisation splattered across their chests, whilst others
require just children's names to decorate their clothing. The actual designing of such patterns ready
for incorporation in to the basic knitting or other craft pattern is an extremely
easy task to undertake. Most designs
require nothing but a ruler, pen and a piece of graph paper (or unused football
pools coupon). Take the original design
you wish to transfer to the garment and section it off into 1/8 inch
squares. Then transfer the design to the
graph paper of similar proportions merely by colouring each appropriate square
using that colour it takes on the master design. Each square now represents a stitch to be
knitted in the colour you indicate on the pattern.
78 Compiling Crosswords
Crosswords
are surprisingly easy to produce with a little practice, and many books on the
subject of writing will guide you through the basic techniques. As an adjunct to producing crosswords for the
many markets requiring the services of the compiler, there is the opportunity
to provide 'personalised' crosswords for clubs, as presents, or for individual
use, and so on. I have seen
advertisements from people offering to create a crossword incorporating words
appropriate to the person who will receive the end result as a gift, including
such as name, pets, occupation, interests, and hobbies.
79 Birthday Memorabilia
Another
highly individual gift service is offered by those who locate original
newspapers from the actual date of the recipient's birth. How much more personal can you get? But have you considered the potential of
offering magazines from relevant dates, calendars from the year of one's birth,
original framed horoscopes from the day, even just a framed advertisement from
a leading publication of the time? With
the exception of the newspaper service this is a greatly under-exploited area
within the field of specialist gift services.
80 Big Bygones
Nostalgia
will always be a winner, in the business world at least. Oh, how I wanted one of those red telephone
kiosks sold off when the yellow designs came into being, but sadly I was not
one of the many hundreds of people able to afford one. Juke boxes are another 'biggie' in both physical
and financial terms, as are old cars, vans (particularly those with advertising
signs), and huge early enamel advertising signs once used outside shops and now
a collecting area in their own right and basking under the title 'street
Jewellery'.
81 Needlework Patterns of Houses, Animals,
Family, etc.
Refer,
if you will, to idea number 77, concerning the creation of patterns for the
adventurous knitter and craftworker.
Designs created in a similar manner would also be of interest to those
craftspeople working in needlepoint, cross-stitch, and embroidery. Many kits are on sale, at high prices,
offering little more than a squared pattern such as we have discussed, the
appropriate background material, and necessary wools, needles and whatever
other materials are required. Dogs,
cats, famous homes, all feature in the designs available, but I still have not
found anything to compare with the offer to create a pattern from your
children's and pet's portraits, photos of your home, and any other coloured
photo with sufficiently clear definition to allow an accurate transfer to the
colour pattern the designer provides.
82 Photocopying Prints etc
Sometimes
the customer desires a copy of some item as opposed to an original document, be
it an early magazine, advertisement, diary, calendar or photograph of his or
her village or town. Recently I
succumbed to purchasing 100 copies of early black and white
advertisements. The originals cost
something in the region of ú3 to ú10 each; these were photocopies and served my
purpose just as well as would the originals.
I paid ú39 for them; almost 40p each for a photocopy that would cost
under 10p - and I was extremely please with my purchase. Similar items I have seen offered for sale
include photocopies of old maps, colour photocopies of early picture postcards,
early engravings; and many a dealer is selling hand-tinted prints and maps, at
much lower prices than an original copy would cost.
83 Origin of Names
Along
with a growing need to learn more about our family ancestors there is an
insatiable interest in learning more about the origins of family surnames. A new computerised system has been introduced
into one or two city and town centres, a business that as yet is grossly
under-exploited. From several huge
volumes of surnames the individual locates that which he or she is interested
in having traced, whereupon the operator keys such into the computer
immediately at hand. The eventual
print-out is offered to the customer on parchment-like paper with old-English
lettering. The fee is something like ú9
for this unique piece of historical interest.
For an additional charge the document is framed behind non-reflective
glass.
84 Fortune Telling
Not
with a glass ball and dressed as the latest descendant of Gypsy Rose Lee, there
is a great revival taking place in the grand old art of predicting the
future. I was amazed when walking in my
local town centre, to see a man telling fortunes by means of access to a
computer on his mobile stall. He was
predicting the fortunes of passers by from handprints produced when they placed
their palms flat on the computer bed.
The fortune was actually told by the computer and interpreted by the
businessman in charge. The customer
received a computer print-out, full prediction details and verbal
interpretation. If the number of
satisfied smiles coming away from that stall are anything to go by, I think
this is another business well worth consideration by the entrepreneur, looking
for something a little bit different.
85Village History
Still seeking to satisfy an insatiable
interest in anything concerning the past, a number of enterprising individuals
have discovered a way of serving a large number of customers with just one
item, copied many times. These
individuals collate the historical details relating to villages, towns, even
cities, and write them up to the delight of avid readers with little time to
unearth the same facts for themselves - often with little inclination to sit
delving into volumes wherein the details are contained. Here lies the opportunity for someone who
enjoys unearthing such facts. All that
is required is one copy of the end product, to be photocopied or printed, and
sold in local shops, door-to-door, or by means of advertisements placed in the
local press.
86 Swap Shop
Collectors
of such as stamps, postcards, coins, books, and a great many other items, often
find themselves with many duplicate items in their collections. The same applies to people requiring such as
forms for entry to consumer competitions.
The business idea here consists of acting as middleman for the exchange
of such items, charging a fee of course for each transaction. There are many things people would like to
swap, not all of them falling within the category of collectibles. Household goods, baby hardware, school books,
are further examples of items we simply sometimes find no further use for. Someone able to offer a service whereby we
can offload such items, and await a suitable swap for them, must surely be in
great demand by all of us.
87 Biorhythms
Biorhythms
are cycles that rule our minds, bodies and emotions. Life it is said, goes through a series of
rhythms, and their pattern of ups and downs have a great influence on the
functioning of the body and its emotions.
Cycles can be positive or
negative, and critical periods can be identified, enabling the persons to whom
they apply to take extra care on certain occasions, or else to modify their
behaviour accordingly. Sounds
complicated doesn't it? But it is
actually extremely easy to chart and analyse the biorhythms of any individual
at any time in his or her life. Small
wonder now that the science has gained a high degree of credibility, that
businessmen, sportsmen, students, and politicians, are but a few of the groups
to have their biorhythm charts compiled before making any important decisions
and plans. Your services can be offered
privately or posted, and the whole art can be learned from appropriate text
books.
88 Book-keeping
The
book-keepers' skills are highly valued amongst small traders and business men
and women, particularly with accountants charging high rates for a similar
service. You will be in great demand,
either on a temporary basis as the tax year draws to a close, or on a permanent
part-time basis, thereby alleviating the need for businesses to employ their
own staff.
89 Writing
Whether
they choose to write readers' letters and fillers, articles or short stories, a
good living awaits those who are tuned in to meeting the requirements of the
various editors and publishers desperate for new talent. The market for articles is much greater than
that for short stories, and usually means a more regular acceptance rate. Seeking further to satisfy the lesser known
and lower paying markets will also lower potential rejection rates as you break
into this highly lucrative area.
90 Tracing Family Trees
In
government records, parish registers, graveyards, and in many other places, are
segments of information, which when located and pieced together, offer an
extremely accurate and interesting profile of one's family history. But a problem presents itself which precludes
many a man or woman from researching his or her family history - TIME! Time in many of our lives is an extremely
scarce commodity and other demands allow insufficient time to undertake
sometimes painstaking research. This is
where you come in, as a specialist and highly paid researcher.
91 Entering Competitions
Every
day, someone, somewhere, receives the news that he or she is the new owner of
something well beyond the scope of his or her own financial resources. It might be a classic car, or a house in an
exclusive area. The recipients are
devotees of consumer competitions sponsored by manufacturers, hotels, shops and
many other businesses as a means of attracting new customers. To qualify for the excellent prizes on offer
every day, the competitor is faced with an array of tasks, from the simple
prize draw, to spot-the-ball exercises, order-of-merit tasks, and to creating
slogans or tie breakers.
92 Consultant
Many
of us, whether we are, or have been employed in professional careers, in
skilled trades, or many other occupations, are unaware of the untapped talent
we might be able to offer to other than our '9 - 5' employers. Some firms and private individuals welcome
the services of trained and experienced people from all walks of life, but have
insufficient need to employ them on a regular, part, or full-time basis. We might for instance, require a nanny or
nurse to look after our children, or a recruitment specialist to help us
through the hurdles of job interviewing techniques.
93 The Big Freeze
Life
being as hectic as it is, especially for the younger ones struggling to meet
mortgage repayments, not everyone has the time or inclination to make small
economies around the home. Freezing food
whilst in season and freezing large portions of main meals for future use, are
just two such ways to save on the household shopping budget, but sadly
something time prevents many of us from doing.
Someone willing to perform such services on our behalf would be more
than welcome, even if there must of necessity be an additional cost over and
above that of raw materials. Your
service can extend beyond fresh fruit, vegetables, and everyday main
meals. You might for instance offer
gourmet cuisine, and freezer portions of the more exotic fruits and vegetables
we find in up-market food stores.
94 Producing Cassette Tapes
There
are many types of commercially produced tape, some for the music lover, or for
the lover of novels but with little time to sit around indulging him or
herself, preferring instead to carry on with normal chores whilst the story or
whatever is read aloud, usually by some famous personality. Purchasers might want to have a best-selling
novel read to them, or else to hear a story
you have written, perhaps to learn some new hobby, or to have
multiplication tables set to music, thereby reinforcing the learning process in
the minds of school-bored children.
95 Strawberry Fields Forever
If
I had a couple of acres of land, even if
it wasn't my own, I'd have that horse I've always wanted. On the rest I'd grow strawberries - and
gooseberries, tomatoes, blackcurrants, and lettuce..... Then every year I'd throw my garden open to
the public to pick their own goodies,
before joining another long line of customers one sees at these P.Y.O.
establishments. (Pick Your Own)
96 Painting and Decorating
Not
everyone relishes the thought of donning rags once a year, retrieving brushes
thrown angrily into the garage last year, and setting about the arduous task of
decorating the home. So here's your
chance all of you who actually enjoy wielding pain brushes and rollers.
97 Cartoons
Only
the other day, in a top women's magazine, I came by something so different I'm
sure there can be few people yet cashing in on this ingenious idea. For about twenty pounds, the customer gets a
cartoon drawing of his or her chosen subject, created from a photograph
submitted with the order. A sample
pictured in the magazine showed a man, with some features undoubtedly
exaggerated as is necessary with cartoons, and with a head enlarged about three
times. Now whilst almost anyone would cringe
at the thought of the 'Spitting Image' team portraying them in caricature,
there was nothing wrong in this cartoon to offend even the most sensitive of
subjects. The colours were muted and the
whole thing extremely easy on the eye - and very different!
98 List Selling
Many
businesses, even if they primarily deal face-to-face with their customers,
often find the need to contact others for a great many reasons, whether for the
purpose of buying or selling. This is
often done by buying or renting names and addresses from specialist operations
or from a middleman dealing in the provision of such information. Lists are required for many other reasons,
not all of them in the field of selling.
Parents for instance, might appreciate a list of all of the private
schools in a certain locality. We also
find lists providing information on hundreds of things that are free for the
asking, as well as lists of firms requiring homeworkers, or offering details of
opportunities to work abroad, and many, many others.
99 Graphology
Once
almost certain to elicit mocking criticism, graphology is the art of analysing
a person's character from a piece of writing he or she provides. Certain strokes of the pen, swirls at the end
of words, a preference for mingling capital letters into one's handwriting, all
have some deep, and until expertly interpreted, hidden meaning. It is the job of the graphologist to
interpret the reasons behind certain styles and peculiarities of writing. A few years ago no-one, with the possible exception
of our American cousins, would dream of paying someone for such an
analysis. Today however, the technique
has developed a great deal of credibility, and the services of a good
graphologist are much in demand, especially in the workplace, where many
employers now view the art as an essential staff recruitment tool.
100 Keep Fit
These
days we're all that little bit more health conscious, as we seek to ward off
illnesses and the effects of growing older.
Few of us though want to put a great deal of effort into the
process. Not for us the long hours of
playing squash, or jogging in the park.
But give us a little exercise class, to
music perhaps, and that's a different matter entirely. These classes can become regular little
meeting places, and many a bigger dance exercise studio and exercise gym has
started from such humble beginnings.
The End - Thank You
For Reading
